Precision medicine is an upcoming disease treatment approach which is devised based on individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person. Often the term is used interchangeably with personalized medicine, however, precision medicine is not the same as simple individualized medicine, but rather a medicine mode which combines standardization with individualization. The benefit rendered by such a treatment approach is the accurate prediction of the treatment and prevention strategies for a particular disease will work in particular groups of people.

The standard medicines available in the market, often present the limitation of a ‘one-size fits-all’ approach, which may not be suitable for every individual due to genetic differences. Precision medicine is an answer to this limitation. Precision medicine is a completely new concept and technology which has been gaining momentum in the past few years, and by doing so, has become a promising domain for business investment for major pharmaceutical companies. Precision medicine makes possible the diagnosis and treatment of diseases by relying on genomics and specific biomarker techniques.

A precision based approach to formulating medicine could lead to new insights into disease biology and occurrence whose applications may be population wide. By doing so it is likely to be easier for doctors to select the right drugs, optimal dose and time for medicine usage along with the least side effect. The enhancement in popularity of precision medicine in the recent past can be gauged by the increase in research pertaining to precision medicine during the past few years. For instance, in 2015, there were 1737 papers with the term “precision medicine” on Pubmed versus just a single paper mentioning precision medicine in 2005.

Moreover, rising awareness regarding the benefits of adapting to precision medicine as promoted by the Precision Medicine Initiative by President Obama in January 2015. The overall market for precision medicine shall be driven by increase in research, coupled with unmet needs in several diseases, especially oncology. The market growth shall be bolstered by favorable government regulations and support, especially in developed countries. However, the high cost of these therapies is anticipated to restrain market growth.

The market for precision medicine has been segmented on the basis of type of technology, application and geography. Based on type of technology, the market has been segmented into drug discovery, companion diagnostics, sequencing, bio-informatics and big data analytics. The companion diagnostics and drug discovery segments are anticipated to lead the market in terms of revenue share owing to a greater utilization rate of these technologies in congruence with precision medicine. For instance, in 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new cystic fibrosis medication called Kalydeco (ivacaftor). The approval of Kalydeco was noteworthy since it was a precision medicine based approach which targeted one of the causal genetic mutations of the disease rather than a more traditional approach focused on symptom relief.

Based on application, the market has been segmented into oncology, hematology, Infectious disease, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology and others. The others segment includes ophthalmology, nephrology, rare diseases and pulmonary diseases). The oncology segment is anticipated to witness high revenue share owing to the rise in cancer incidence, prevalence and suitability of precision medicine for the same. Patients with several forms of cancer, such as breast, lung, and colorectal cancers, as well as leukemias and melanomas, regularly undergo molecular testing as part of patient care and treatment regime, and this enables physicians to select treatments that increase chances of survival at the same time reducing exposure to adverse side effects.

Based on geography, the market has been segmented into the following regions: North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to be the leading markets in the precision medicine market, owing to greater adoption to leading edge technologies coupled with a favorable legal environment created through grants and initiatives by the government. For instance, in January 2015, the President of the U.S., Mr. Barrack Obama launched the Precision medicine initiative which included an increased funding request of US$ 215 million in the 2016 federal budget.

Moreover, initiatives for precision medicine research and its implementation are already underway at major centers in the U.S., which shall fuel the market growth in the region. For instance, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard formed the Joint Center for Precision Cancer Medicine. This collaboration aims to create precision medicine pathways for patients with advanced cancers, thus enabling the fast development of personalized therapies.

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